Jeff Houghton was driving home from the Ozark Empire Fair when he saw the update on his phone — “The Mystery Hour,” Springfield’s local late-night talk show, had been nominated for three Emmys.

Houghton, who received a nomination as the host of the show, said the news was incredible.

“I never cared too much about awards,” Houghton said, “but this one’s named ‘Emmy.’”

This being the Mid-America Emmys — one of 19 regional chapters — “The Mystery Hour” was up against programs throughout Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois.

This is the first time the show’s been nominated for anything like this — Houghton said there aren’t that many awards for local late-night talk shows.

“Last year around this time, we were all like ‘There are Emmys?’” Houghton said.

But a year and three nominations later, what Houghton calls a “shared passion project” has an opportunity to be recognized on a whole new stage.

One of the nominations is for the show’s audio production, done by Hite Media, which Houghton called an essential part of the show.

“People see me a lot, but they’re much better at audio than I am at hosting,” Houghton said.

The ceremony itself — where Houghton and crew will discover if they’ve won — is set for Oct. 3 in Kansas City, less than a month after the show begins taping for the new season on Sept. 11.

Houghton, who mentioned that there’s a push to get the show syndicated into other nearby markets such as Joplin, said there’s still a big Springfield focus.

“It’s really a community project,” he said. “A countless number of people make it happen.”

Houghton was nominated for “On-Camera Talent — Performer/Host.” Hite Media was nominated for “Audio — Live or Post-Production,” and the segment “Cher the Road” was nominated for “Community/Public Service Single Spots or Campaigns.”